The mayor LR of Calais who supports Macron assures "not to betray his party"

• The mayor LR of Calais, Natacha Bouchart declared that she supported the candidacy of Emmanuel Macron for the presidential election 2022.

• After the rallying of Eric Woerth, it is a new defection in the camp of Valérie Pécresse, the candidate invested by LR.

• For her part, the mayor of Calais stresses that her decision is “pragmatic” and that it was not the subject of negotiation with the President of the Republic.

On Thursday, the LR mayor of Calais, Natacha Bouchart, said she would not support her party's presidential candidate, Valérie Pécresse, but rather the incumbent President, Emmanuel Macron.

A “pragmatic” position that the elected official took for “the good of her city” without having “asked anything in exchange”.

Is his support for the Head of State so disinterested or does this hide other ambitions?

Natacha Bouchart answered questions from

.

Concretely, have you given your sponsorship to the President of the Republic?

No, I haven't and I don't think it's necessary.

Nor will I give it to Valérie Pécresse to spare the goat and the cabbage.

Anyway, I have no doubt that she will have her 500 signatures.

I will not sponsor anyone.

Would you still have supported Emmanuel Macron if your party had invested a candidate other than Valérie Pécresse?

If the LR candidate had been Nicolas Sarkozy or even François Baroin, my position would undoubtedly have been different.

Personally, I have nothing against Valérie Pécresse, but it's not the same philosophy.

I'm not saying that she has no chance.

My decision is balanced and responsible in relation to the situation in Calais, stuck between two extremes.

The extreme left which wants to welcome everyone in unworthy conditions, and the extreme right which wishes to reject all migrants at the risk of their lives.

In 2021, the number of crossings exploded and we witnessed the worst drama in the migratory history of Calais.

Is the government policy effective?

Today there are between 800 and 1,500 migrants in the territory of Calais, the situation remains difficult.

I'm not saying it was always perfect, but we were well supported by the government.

The smugglers adapt very quickly, we cannot blame the increase in the number of crossings on the President of the Republic.

Either way, no candidate has the right solution.

Between what we say we are going to do and what we can do with European law and binational agreements, most of the measures proposed are only rhetoric.

I prefer to follow a majority that I supported, whose second term it will be and who have experience on the migration issue.

Technically, it's not as simple as aligning measurements when you don't necessarily know how to use them.

Yet Emmanuel Macron failed to renegotiate the Le Touquet agreements when it is one of your main demands.

Yes, I want a revision of these Le Touquet agreements.

It is a bilateral agreement whereas Europe would have to invest in a possible renegotiation.

Things have been done, but they are not perfect.

We must continue in this direction, it is for this reason that I do not want a break when we have a presidency which has grasped the subject well.

I am a Gaullist, pragmatic.

For me, the best choice for the country and for Calais is Emmanuel Macron.

Our 2022 Presidential file

You support the president while wishing to stay at LR.

What are your ambitions ?

We did not know how to manage after Fillon, the party never knew how to rebuild itself and it is not two months before the election that it will do so.

However, I have never betrayed my party and if I have to leave LR, it will be because I have been kicked out.

I may be accused of having the ambition to return to government, but I did not ask for anything or negotiate with Emmanuel Macron.

If someone offers me something one day, I can accept on the only condition of not resigning from my post as mayor.

I want to be even more useful for this territory, for the people of Calais.

Minister of the Interior, for example, the first step I would take is to formalize the status of Calais as a border town.

I would also work with the Keeper of the Seals to put in place tougher experimental devices than they are today to fight against smugglers.

Politics

Presidential 2022: A meeting was linked between Valérie Pécresse and Nicolas Sarkozy

Politics

Presidential 2022: After the resounding transfer of Eric Woerth, we take stock of the political transfer window

• Emmanuel Macron

• Valerie Pécresse

• Elections

• The Republicans (LR)

• Presidential election 2022

• Calais

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